Beowulf for Kids
by carocat6
Summary: "The water of the lake is black as night, and waves erupt from its surface, spraying poisoned water into the air. The roots of skeletal trees hang over the edge of the lake, clutching at the bank desperately. The air is thick with poisoned mist. It is not a nice place." - had to write this for a school assignment. I wrote it to be read aloud to kids age 4 to 8.


**Once upon a time, long, long ago, their lived a good King named Hrothgar… **

Hrothgar is King of the Danes, the people of Denmark. To celebrate his successful kingdom, King Hrothgar builds a magnificent building called a mead-hall, where all his men can drink and sing. And his kingdom is happy.

But the happiness doesn't last long, for nearby in a dark, dank, slimy, swamp lives Grendel, a monster who hates all people and all happiness. Grendel hears the happy men, and leaves his dark, dank, slimy, swamp and attacks the mead-hall. He eats thirty of the King's men before returning to his swamp.

King Hrothgar's faithful men try to defeat Grendel, but they all fail, and Grendel eats them too. Every night Grendel returns to the mead-hall, and eats more of the Kings men. This continues for 10 years, and King Hrothgar's kingdom becomes very small and sad, and evil Grendel is happy (and probably a bit fat!)

Just when King Hrothgar gives hope, he hears news that a great man has come and is claiming to be strong enough to beat Grendel. The man is named Beowulf, and he is a warrior who has come from the land of the Geats, far across the sea, to help King Hrothgar.

Beowulf is young, but strong, and King Hrothgar is very happy he's come. He calls for a feast to celebrate his arrival. During the feast one of the Kings men, named Unferth, insults Beowulf -

"You're just self-centered and foolish!" cries Unferth; He's a small, ugly, rat-like man with a squeaky voice. "I heard that when you were younger, you were in a swimming competition with another man, and you lost! If you couldn't even win that, how do you think you're strong enough to beat Grendel!?"

Beowulf is very angry to be called a liar, but he argues back calmly. "The competition you're talking about was only not won by me because I didn't want to leave behind my competitor in the dangerous waters. Sadly the sea pushed us apart, and 20 sea serpents attacked me! I killed 9 of them and barely survived."

"I don't believe you!" says Unferth.

"I've never heard a tale about the feats of the mighty Unferth!" continues Beowulf, ignoring Unferth's comment. "I have heard the only person you've fought is your little brother, and you became angry and bashed him over the head!"

"That's not true!"

"If you are so great, why didn't you kill Grendel yourself?"

"Because…"

"Well, you are lucky I'm here. I'm going to beat Grendel, and tomorrow you can come to the mead-hall in peace!" Beowulf proclaims loudly. All the men in the hall cheer, and laugh at Unferth, who turns and walks away angrily.

Beowulf and his warriors spend the night in the mead – hall. Soon Grendel comes from his dark, dank, slimy swamp to enjoy another night's feast. Grendel eats one man and moves on to pick up the next man with a huge, ugly paw. But the next man is Beowulf, who is just pretending to be asleep. He doesn't have any weapons, and no armor, because he wants to beat Grendel with only his hands.

As Grendel's slimy paw descends towards Beowulf, Beowulf grabs it, and holds on the Grendel's arm. Grendel struggles to escape, but Beowulf strong, and is famous for his powerful "hand-grip". Finally, Grendel escapes, leaving behind his own slimy arm! He retreats back into his dank, dark, slimy swamp, and is never heard from again.

All of the Kings men celebrate Beowulf's victory, singing songs and giving Beowulf valuable gifts. Beowulf tells about his fight, and even Unferth is impressed. The kingdom is happy once more.

The night after Grendel's death Hrothgar's men go to sleep happy and peaceful, thinking that Grendel is gone and they are safe. But what they don't know is that Grendel has an over-protective mother, who wants to get back at them for killing her precious son. In the night, Grendel's mother awakes from the creepy, cold, murky, mere where she lives and breaks into the mead-hall. She carries off one of Beowulf's men, eats him, and then returns to her dark lair.

Beowulf and his men set out to defeat Grendel's mother the next morning. They follow the footprints of Grendel's mother to a small lake where she lives.

The water of the lake is black as night, and waves erupt from its surface, spraying poisoned water into the air. The roots of skeletal trees hang over the edge of the lake, clutching at the bank desperately. The air is thick with poisoned mist. It is not a nice place.

As Beowulf prepares to dive into the lake in search of Grendel's mother, Unferth arrives at his side.

"Beowulf," says Unferth tentatively, "use my sword. It is called Hrunting and is a very special blade. You are a good strong warrior, and should have it instead of me." He presents a thin, iron sword to Beowulf.

Beowulf nods. "Thank you, Unferth."

Then he says to his accompanying men, "goodbye. I hope I meet victory and glory, and win this battle, but if I don't return by sunset, assume that I am lost. Return the gifts I have won to my King, King Hygelac of the Geats."

And with those words, carrying Unferth's sword and wearing armor, Beowulf jumps into the smelly lake, and disappears beneath its surface.

Beowulf swims in the lake, searching for Grendel's mother. Water monsters (giant snakes and things with huge tusks) attack him, but he survives. Grendel's mother sneaks up behind him and drags him to an underwater cave, which is dry, and lit by glaring flames! Here Beowulf and Grendel's mother fight for many hours, but neither can defeat the other. Unferth sword is useless against Grendel's mother's skin.

Finally, when above the lake the sun is set, and all of Hrothgar's men have returned home thinking Beowulf is dead, Beowulf sees a huge sword sitting among a pile of treasure in the cave. The sword was built for a giant, and Beowulf can barely pick it up! But he manages to, and with a mighty swing he chops off Grendel's mother's head!

Beowulf returns to the surface of the lake, and his faithful men who remain by the water celebrate his return. They all go back to King Hrothgar's hall, where King Hrothgar praises Beowulf for his victory, and gives him many gifts in thanks. After many nights of feasting, Beowulf leaves and sails back to his own kingdom. And King Hrothgar's kingdom is happy once more.

Many years pass by in peace. In the land of the Geats, King Hygelac and his son both die, leaving Beowulf King of the land. He rules well for 50 years, and his kingdom is happy.

But Beowulf's adventure is not over yet. For a man has stolen a flagon from a vicious dragon, and the dragon is very angry. The dragon is wandering the countryside by night, burning up houses and people with his fiery breath. Beowulf, despite his old age, sets out to fight the dragon himself along with 11 men.

They reach the dragon's cave, which is in a cliff overlooking the ocean. Here, Beowulf tells his men about his successful battles and confidently walks up to the cave.

"DRAGON! COME FACE ME!" bellows Beowulf.

Out of the flame filled cave the dragon appears. He is huge, with skin as red as flames and fire spitting from his mouth. Beowulf fights the dragon for hours, and his shield and sword both break. Beowulf is old, and despite his determination and confidence, he is not strong and fast enough to win the battle.

Finally, Beowulf stumbles, and the dragon sees his weakness and bites him. Beowulf realizes he's going to loose, and calls his men forward to help him. But his men are scared, and have already abandoned him. Wiglaf is the only one who remains, and he charges forward and stabs the dragon with his sword. Then Beowulf stabs the dragon with his dagger, killing it.

Beowulf knows he's dying. The dragon bite is poisoned, and Beowulf is already weak. Beowulf asks Unferth to bring him some of the treasure in the dragon's cave. When he sees the gold, silver and jewels he is happy, because he has won all of them for his kingdom. He praises Wiglaf, telling him -

"I'm going soon, to the land beyond. You're brave and true, and I name you the next King. Punish the men who abandoned me today." Beowulf gasps for breath. He is very weak. "Bury me well, Wiglaf." He sighs, and says very quietly - "rule wisely."

And then Beowulf, the great, brave warrior, closes his eyes for the final time.

**And so ends the tale of Beowulf… he spent his life helping and others, and thanks to him, the kingdoms of the Danes and the Geats are both happy. **

**THE END**


End file.
